Defending champions Egypt have insisted that Group C of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations is still wide open despite their emphatic 4-2 win over their close rivals Cameroon Tuesday.

In the other game of the group Zambia overran Sudan 3-0 to shoot to the top of the standings.
Egypt coach Hassan Shehata said it was a satisfying outcome for him against four-time winners Cameroon but his team are yet to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.

"We still don't have the ticket to the quarterfinal of the competition because it is still wide open," said Shehata, who was missing several key players through suspension and injuries.
"However, I'm very happy with this result and the way my team played. The players did all I instructed them, they were aggressive in our first match in defence of our crown."

He continued: "I did not expect to win by as many as four goals. The three goals we scored in the first half made life a lot easier for us. We will celebrate this victory just a little before we start to think about the next two games."

His Cameroonian counterpart Otto Pfister admitted that the Pharaohs outclassed his team in the first period.

"I don't know what happened in the first half. Egypt were very good particularly in the first half. I tried to do something about this but the level of the Egyptians was very high especially in the midfield and defence," he said.
"It was difficult for us to control the game but in the second half we produced some chances but we could not take them.
"We must now win our next two games so that we can qualify for the quarterfinal. We have no choice but to do so."
Cameroon tackle Zambia and Egypt are up against Sudan Saturday at the Baba Yara Stadium in Lumasi.